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Episode 9: With One Accord In a Flash/Both Of You Dance Like You Want to Win!
I've come to the conclusion that Evangelion exists to keep us on the edge of our seats and surprising us at every turn. This episode epitomizes Evangelion: funny, touching, introspective and a kick ass fight! The episode starts with all the male students at school selling pictures of Asuka. Some are more akin to cheesecake while others are innocent pictures. Irregardless of which category they fall into they sell well because Asuka is the most popular girl at school. Asuka spots Rei in the courtyard and asks Rei if she wants to be good friends. Rei asks why, Asuka says it'd be convenient and Rei says she will be a good friend if she is ordered to. Suffice it to say, this comment doesn't sit well with Asuka. Meanwhile at NERV Central, Kaji sneaks behind Ritsuko and flirts with her, until she points to Misato who is watching behind a glass window. Misato asks why he is still there and he say she has been ordered to hand around NERV. The 7th Angel soon attacks and both 01 and 02 sortie to defeat it. Assuming victory to be easy, Asuka quickly attacks the Angel and slices it in two. What she didn't realize is that the Angel has two cores and it proceeds to form two independent Angels. The EVA's are easily defeated and the UN barely slows the Angel with an N2 bomb. While being debriefed on the mission, Asuka blames Shinji for her defeat and is mad she was embarrassed in front of Kaji. Ritsuko gives Misato a plan to defeat the Angel and Misato is jubilant until she learns it was from Kaji. She looks at the disk with a smile that indicates there still might be feelings within her for Kaji. Shinji arrives home only to find that Asuka is in his room and have moved his stuff! She tells Shinji that she is replacing him because she is the newer and better model. Asuka is mad she can't live with Kaji and is even more terrified when Misato tells them that both the pilors will live together! Since the 7th Angel has two cores they must be hit at exactly the same point and for that to be possible Shinji and Asuka must be totally in synch. To facilitate the development of this extraordinary coordination, Shinji and Asuka are forced to wear the same spandex uniform and perform a dance in perfect coordination using what looks like a high tech Twister board. In a humorous segment, Hikari Horaki, the class rep, meets Kensuke and Toji who are visiting Shinji. She is going to see Asuka and none of the three realize the two EVA pilots live together. When the three classmates open the door to Misato's apartment they are shocked to see Asuka and Shinji, not only wearing the same tights, but also speaking in unison. The students soon learn why the pilots are living together and have a good laugh at their expense. While trying to practice the dance, Asuka is consistently ahead of Shinji and will not slow down for him. Misato has Rei and Shinji work together on the dance and the two are instantly in synch. Seeing Rei able to best her, Asuka begins to cry and runs off while Hikari convinces Shinji to follow her. He is unable to initially get through to her but in the days that follow the duo learn to work in unison in everything they do and their progress seems to be leading to victory against the 7th Angel. One day, on the night before their battle, Asuka wakes in the night and sleep walks over to Shinji where the two almost kiss. Asuka says "mama", begins to cry and Shinji realizes behind the facade she is just a normal teenager like him. At the same time, Shinji and Kaji are coming up a NERV elevator and are passionately kissing but Misato stops part way through, saying things can't be the way they were. Misato and Ritsuko meet for drinks, and Ritsuko is sure Misato is still in love with Kaji, despite her claims that things aren't the way they were 8 years ago. The next day is D-day, when Asuka and Shinji must defeat the 7th Angel or the world is doomed. In a beautifully animated and musically orchestrated sequence, the EVA's defeat the Angel without any problem but they blow the landing, with the EVA's piled on top of each other. They both argue about who messed up and the sequence is too funny to even try and describe. If you ask most fans what their favorite episode is, this one is very likely to be their answer. It features a superb musical score, some hilarious sequences between Shinji and Asuka and the battle scene is poetry in motion. This episode is an episode, which ignores all the bigger mysteries and instead focuses on the characters exclusively and the pressure of being an EVA pilot as well as the excitement they must feel. Overall, this episode is very fun to rewatch (I can't count how many times I've seen it) and if you want to introduce your friend to EVA all (s)he has to do is watch the series up to this episode to be hooked.